That’s the question Strikeforce lightweight Justin Wilcox had to ask himself after returning to the locker room at this past June’s “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” event, where an inadvertent Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante eyepoke led to a no-contest result.

“In the backroom, my eyeball was bleeding,” Wilcox recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I was like, ‘Where is this blood coming from?’ They were like, ‘Well, you have a laceration on your eye.’

“They shipped me right off to the hospital.”

The result was a bit of a setback for Wilcox, who was hoping to use a win over a high-profile opponent to catapult him to the main card of the company’s highest-profile shows. But at that moment, Wilcox’s position in the division was the least of his worries. Vision took first priority.

“The eyes are definitely very serious,” Wilcox said. “You need those, and not just for fighting. I knew it was pretty serious when the doctor looked at me and said, ‘Close your good eye and tell me what you see.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, is my eye open? I can’t see nothing.’ Then I started getting a little worried.

“I’ve been poked in the eye before in fights. You see black spots for a few minutes, and then they tend to go away. They may even stay with you for a day, but I could see absolutely nothing.”

Fortunately for Wilcox (11-3 MMA, 5-1 SF), there was no permanent damage, and the American Kickboxing Academy fighter said he’s 100 percent ready for a Saturday-night fight with Caros Fodor (6-1 MMA, 4-0 SF) on the preliminary card of “Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal,” which takes place at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. The main card airs on Showtime.

“They took good care of me and got me to 100 percent,” Wilcox said. “It doesn’t weigh in my head. I’m going to go out there and do what I do.”

All but one time that he’s competed for Strikeforce, what Wilcox has done is win. However, while he’s taken a few headlining roles in Challengers events, he has yet to fight on the main card of the company’s Arena Series cards. Fodor, also perfect under the Strikeforce banner, is also looking for a little recognition.

Wilcox understands exactly what’s at stake.

“I’ve just got to do my job as a fighter,” Wilcox said. “I feel like I go in there, and I put on exciting fights every time I come in there. That’s what I want to do for the fans and for myself. I want to keep it exciting.

“I just like to fight. I like to explore every avenue of the fight game. I’m not just a wrestler. Hopefully, Showtime can see, ‘Hey, this kid can stand and bang, and he likes to.’ I just want to keep it exciting.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?